Psy and the Faceless Asian

Where are all the white tears flowing this time of the year? At the American Music Awards, apparently. On the 18th of November, the ceremony took place in Los Angeles, and amid the plethora of musicians invited to perform, Psy ended the gala together with none other than MC Hammer. The result was as amazing as having these two names in the same sentence.

But what proved more interesting was this commentary from Gil Asakawa of Nikkeiview, who linked the performance to the ’92 Los Angeles riots, where the Korean-American community responded to protesters. Now, after 20 years, you have MC Hammer — a singer who was active during those years who was not very keen on being silenced — and Psy on the same stage, closing the ceremony for a national event. Just how great is that?

Well, it obviously depends on whom you’re asking. Pre-show, many nay-saying spectators made their rage no secret and suggested that Psy shouldn’t be able to perform on the show because he isn’t a US citizen. Obviously, as many have noticed, they hadn’t taken into consideration Justin Bieber (Canadian) and The Wanted (British/Irish), and a couple of other nominees on the roster weren’t born in the US. But there is one thing that makes Psy quite different than The Wanted and Justin Bieber in terms of their “American-ness:” he’s not white. Psy is an Asian dude who sings — oh, the horror! — in an Asian language. But most of all, the uproar against Psy singing at the AMAs seems like a hidden wish to silence the Asian minority and put it in a corner where people are being laughed at without a chance of calling out the racists. Whether he likes it or not, Psy owes his success to Asian stereotypes, and his performance at a major American music awards ceremony is ironic in itself, retorting a disadvantage to his favor.

But the racism that goes against citizens or non-citizens of Asian descent is taken very lightly and even trivialized. Asians are a caricature, strangers Americans can’t relate to. What would they be doing at the AMA? No wonder why the “Go back to Asia” comments were aplenty; after all, Hollywood specializes in ignoring the APA community as a whole. Need an actor for Dragonball? Just make sure the main character isn’t Asian, otherwise people might not empathize with him. You need to make a movie about samurais? Ask Tom Cruise, because god forbid, you don’t want to have an actual Asian talking about an Asian culture. How about reincarnated characters? Well, they’ll just have the same actors in yellowface playing an Asian character. Never mind how many actors of Asian descent Cloud Atlas could have employed and how this would have helped the narrative of the movie. But when you have some make-up and “American” characters people can actually understand, why bother?

According to Hollywood, Asians need to be kept at a distance and in a place where their culture becomes acceptable only when a white person approaches (and, oftentimes, appropriates) it. Directors cast movie protagonists with actors they see as the “public target,” or the standard human being they encounter.

It’s easy to detect what the definition of “normal” is: a white, straight, able-bodied, cis male. By featuring other races or ethnicities, other genders/people with different sexual orientations, and other disabilities, one would be straying away from the default configuration. The average viewer is able to observe this in the way roles are handled in cinematography: the main character in most situations is the aforementioned combination of traits and if not, they surely need one to get what they want.

This is made none more obvious than the case of Tosh.0. A while back, the site published a photo of B.A.P. sporting blonde hair and wearing the same suits, with this “joke” as a caption: “Of course we have one Miley Cyrus and Asia has five.” The photo was taken down after K-pop fans unleashed their rage, and some of them even called out the racists whose comments reinforced the same old stereotypes, to put it lightly. As K-pop fans, this is the stuff that makes us cringe the most. But here’s a little secret: K-pop fandom isn’t impervious to this kind of behavior, either.

How many times have the lines, “Koreans all look the same”, or “This is the Korean version of X?” popped up in conversation amongst K-pop fans? The mentality lingering behind this prescribes that while originality is valued, celebrities need follow a preexisting standard while making their mark in the music industry. Some audiences then proceed to characterize one personality against “the original entity”. I’ve heard Hyorin and Ailee being compared to Beyoncé. Kim Wan-sun is apparently the Korean Michael Jackson, and After School are the Korean Pussycat Dolls. DBSK are the Korean Backstreet Boys, while Kumi Koda has been dubbed as a plethora of things — the Japanese Shakira, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera or Madonna. Much like Kumi Koda, Ayumi Hamasaki has taken to receiving similar “honorific” titles. Why are there so many comparisons when we’re talking about completely different artists with incredibly different styles and personalities? Seems to me like originality has been bitten in the butt. It’s just a failure of international fans to encounter another race and take its individuals as human beings with distinct personalities, without always having to draw comparisons between them and people of “their kind/another kind”.

As Korean celebrities become increasingly fetishized, fans find new depths in their interactions, reactions and associations with this genre of entertainment and pop culture. Of course, we all have an interest in South Korea (just look at the name of this site!), but there is no reason in this world to actually believe that a man/woman defines the epitome because of his nationality, no matter how advantageous a pro/con list for one or the another appears to be. Fans seem to indulge in the fantasy that if they’re listening to Korean music, it’s impossible for them to be racist towards Korean people.

Moreover, when scandals take place — like in cases of “blackface”, and stars (like G-Dragon) getting high — onlookers are often quick to justify or launch accusations, without first attempting to understand the cultural frame these scandals have taken place in. It’s not criticisms of the mentalities behind these actions that stick out — I find this to be a constructive cultural exchange — but rather the fact that people don’t exactly call out others for overreactions, or for simply misunderstanding the matter/s that is bothersome. In these cases, it’s not the actions or reactions that come under scrutiny, but how different the respective event is from their normality. If weed’s not a problem in many of these fans’ countries, then why should it be in South Korea? If some nations have engaged in an on-going battle against racism, why is South Korea still not accepting minorities? They don’t analyze the core of the problem, but just assume one size fits all, and that the nations they belong to offer solutions to everything. South Korea comes to be at the receiving end of commentary from an audience that probably couldn’t care to understand its history, culture and even political environment.

Now going back to Psy and the intolerance he faces that is dissimilar to the reactions received by other foreigners at the same awards show — this occurrence highlights how a vast viewership perceives Asians in their own culture. Despite his track record for the momentous year so far, there weren’t obvious signs that Psy would come to grace the annual event, and especially one that vises through its name, the American public. Specifically talking out about the the naysayers, the disappointing conclusion from this is that Psy was probably taken by most to be a laughing stock, a negligible portion of entertainment. He was rather an entity creeping up among them, with star substance deemed to be insufficient by a demographic of people. And well, this lot got infuriated when Psy begged to differ.

While I calm my word vomit, I’d like to turn the discussion to our readers — what’s your take on this? What are your thoughts on the overall reactions Asian communities receive when one of their members goes under the spotlight?

American Music Awards doesn’t equal being born in America but being heard in America. I admit at first I was like why are all these non-Americans performing but then I came to my senses and realized that it wasn’t about where they were from, but that they were music listened to/wanted in America. America is just a location. Anyways, I stayed up to watch the AMA’s for PSY and Pink. His performance with MC Hammmer was better then some (not naming anyone specifically). It’s sad that people are stuck with such old racist views :( I wonder when, if ever, people will open their eyes and see that they are not the only race/ethnicity out there and they aren’t the “best.”

UncleFan

@ Maria: You may have made some good points, but your unfortunate usage of the RACIST phrase “white tears” make it very difficult to take your article seriously. Does Seoulbeats want to end up sounding like some goofy Livejournal forum?

GaCaRa

I fail to see how the term “white tears” has been used in the systemic oppression and marginalization of white people over centuries in a way that makes it so RACIST.

If you think, that something has to be based on a history of oppression to be racist, then you need to look the word up in a dictionary (: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/racism?q=racism). While I agree, that it isn’t as “bad” or offensive as the n-word, it’s still racist and nothing can change that. Only being against racism against minorities like blacks, Hispanics and Asians is quite frankly racist.

If you don’t feel that it’s a reliable source, based on the fact that it’s written by white people, then find an English dictionary written by another race that you feel are more reliable, that defines racism in another way, please.

As long as success is measured against the standard of “acceptance” Asians receive in the West, they will be at the mercy of the fickle nature of Western opinion.

As the largest and most lucrative entertainment market, the US in particular is an attractive goal for nearly every Kpop label, but if they want to try their luck they will have to play by a different set of rules than they are accustomed to. That’s just the way it is.

And most of the racism regarding Asians in entertainment isn’t from Whites, but Blacks, who seem to take offense to Asians expropriating their “culture” and trying to act black or “gangster.”

Actually, I’m black and I could care less about that. I also know many other black people who like Kpop and could care less if Taeyang wants to Dougie all night or GD wants to rap with cornrows in. Please point me to all this racism, I’d love to read about it.

sleepyboo

Personally I’d like to read about all this racism too… Blacks are NOT the majority of the perpetrators who are hurling racism towards Asians. They get pissed off that Korean idols APPROPRIATE (that’s how you spell it by the way) their culture (yes their culture, so you can take those sarcastic quotations away from the word), while simultaneously being disrespected through blackface and other racist actions.

Frankly it pisses me off that a comment this ignorant has so many likes.

GaCaRa

wow, I didnt even notice the “expropriating” and ia with you sleepyboo what’s with all the likes?

Just for the record, the relationship between blacks and Koreans in America is volatile and runs deeper than what you so irresponsibly make it out to be. And it comes from both sides. Look up 1992 LA riots and the shooting of Latasha Harlins. And although you’re partly right (we tend to scrutinize racism coming from whites and not from blacks), maybe do some research before you make blanket statements like that.

The problem with kpop idols and appropriation is that they often time link black culture with hiphop. Notice how people like Epik High and Tiger JK never get called out on appropriation simply because they are rappers. Also you wouldn’t here us saying they “act black or gangster” its the fact that they think they are acting black because they can rap and wear baggy clothes or thinking if they were black they would be better at rapping, singing, dancing that the offense comes in. I don’t get how calling that out equates to racism?

Cherry_Blueberry

Sometimes I hate these race related articles not because I think they shouldn’t be discussed (because they should) but rather because people use this as a platform to finger point. EVERYTIME I come on one of these articles it’s one race arguing or belittling another and it often takes away from the main issue at hand. Have you ever wondered why black people always talk about appropriation in Kpop? It’s because there’s appropriation in Kpop! Put yourself in their shoes. If traditional Korean music was one of the biggest global genres and a country that has basically no ties or real understanding of Korea and it’s traditions on practically the other side of the world started basically mass producing Korean traditional music (many times giving no credit to it) in their own language how would the people of Korea feel? I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be too happy. It’s basically how “African-American” music was stolen in the early 1900s-1970’s and rarely given any credit to the real originators. Hopefully you can a least see a little why that might be troubling. There’s also the point of why a lot of minority groups in America don’t like replications of their culture to be handed out to the masses. It becomes bastardized and people don’t respect it. When people wear headdresses as accessories like Gwen Stefanie in her “Looking Hot” mv or design lingerie as geisha outfits like Victoria Secret it takes away from the culture because it trivializes it and makes way for it to become a fad. Cultures and important aspects of them are not a fad, they are the backbone of its people and it’s traditions. Unfortunately instead of people showing maturity and trying to understand why different people think differently, it’s people showing hypocrisy and putting blame on others. “Well so and so said I was a fault, but it was really someone else.” We’re all at fault because instead of trying to fix the problem we push the blame on someone else and make it bigger. Like a wise woman once told me, “I don’t care who started it, just finish it.” One thing I wish more(this being the key word, because most I know generally do) black people would do though is embrace and be happy when someone of another race or culture genuinely appreciates, credits and wants to learn about “black” culture. I’m tired of black people blaming asian people, asian people blaming white people, white people blaming black people, etc. We as the human race need to do some serious soul-searching and understand each other instead of being so damn lazy and typing on the computer or relaxing in our comfort zone and pointing the finger at each other.

Sentimental Muffin

I just love your comment. I wish I cculd take your comment, frame it and show it to my peers and people in my home country. This attitude should be adopted globally to handle all social issues, including racism imo. Thank you so much Cherry_ Blueberry.

takasar1

its a nice thought and mirrors most of my own. but lets face facts, human beings are selfish, greedy and insensitive. these traits define us and we will never be free of them.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

sadako92

So you think that every artist creating electronic music should pay a tribute to Germans since it’s the country where this music comes from ? Music genres are not the property of one community or of one country, it’s the same with film genre (thriller, sci-fi, romance and so on): they belong to everyone. Nothing is “stolen” from someone else. And it’s not as if nobody knew where hip hop music came from, it’s not as if this genre had been kept confidential throughout the years… The comparison with Korean traditional music is not even relevant. And if it was, it would be very flattering for Koreans – or anyone else seeing his culture getting loved somewhere else in the world.

Streby

Your comment makes sense to me except for the last bit, its easy to point fingers but if you actually analyze it, no one party can be blamed for racism regarding any community.

I cant agree with you more. There are racists in every country,even Asians to other asians.I dont think there’s ever going to be an end for this because part of the reason it exist is because this kind of mentality is somehow part of one’s culture,every race thinking they are better than the others.

eve92

I’m just throwing this out here because I think it’s an example of improvement of the matter of asian stereo types in Hollywood, but the show Elementary actually has an asian female Watson. I was pleasantly suprised by that and even more so because the show doesn’t draw overly much attention to her heritage.

And the CW has Nikita with an Asian.Hawaii Five-0 and Battlestar Galactica both had the same Asian.

Not to mention Cloud Atlas had an Asian actress who went through the same process of changing her appearance to be white as the white actors went through to be not white but I don’t hear much complaining about that.

eve92

So you think Lucy Liu’s character is not actually a fair potray of an asian woman in America, far off from stero types? That her character is an asian trying to be white? (I’m genuinely asking if this is your point becaus I’m pretty bad with written sarcasm)

I mean, I also think that a lot of things still need to change concerning stereo type in Hollywood, but I do think that the show doesn’t have a jugdemental perspective (then again, I am white so I might not be the best judge of that).

So what you are saying, is for an Asian person to “break stereotypes in Hollywood” they are not allowed to be born anywhere in the USA, or live here, or have lived here, or speak English without an accent.

And please learn to read English, as it’s the language of this website: “Just adding more shows with more Asians not “trying to be white”.”

“NOT TRYING TO BE WHITE” is what I said, and you turn around and tell me I said they’re acting white. Yup. Good job, there.

Berdy

i had no idea there was an uproar against PSY at the AMA’s, but I leave it to who fucking cares? Yes I said it! This is progress and I’d like to see this actually go forward. I love the smell of potential and PSY opens up further possibilities. If PSY being there is getting some negative reaction, from a standpoint its a good thing. Like they say, “Even bad publicity is good publicity.” Hopefully you are getting my point here. PSY is getting recognized not only for Gangman style but also for being Asian. He is overstepping the stereotype. I could understand where Tiger JK was coming from when he backlash at the crowd. and shit, I wouldn’t have apologized (too much pride). I still have my fears about PSY breaking into the music industry but the point is he opens up possibilities for Asian artist.

pat

The AMA has always been about POPULARITY and there you cannot fault Psy’s
inclusion, given the You tube explosion and everywhereness of the MV.

Good job pointing out the Asian actress who played a white role in Cloud Atlas.

And how The Last Samurai wasn’t at all about “a white man talking about Asians” it was about an outsider (the white man) learning and accepting another culture (Samurai) and becoming accepted as one. To say a white person could not or should not be in an “Asian” culture is racist in and of itself.

JackHuang

Since Asian cultures were, and largely still are, extremely ethnically homogeneous, it’s hardly racist to declare that a white person cast in a role that goes against all known historical and/or plot bases is simply whitewashing.

I’m fine with the yellowface in Cloud Atlas, because those actors were in more white roles than Asian. But, I’m not a fan of the fact that every role the Asian actresses played conformed to the good ol’ sex-toy/submissive stereotype. I dare anyone to cast Halle Berry in a role that’s remotely as simpering.

Halle Berry won an Academy Award because of her sex scene in Monster’s Ball. Women of color in the United States are continuously shoved into stereotypical roles that reinforce them as more “exotic” or sexual than white women. It’s not just an Asian thing.

JackHuang

Yet black women and Hispanic women are making real strides breaking out of this mold, while roles for Asian women conform far more to the stereotype.

I was only responding to your “I dare anyone to cast Halle Berry…” statement. I acknowledge that there is a need for the entertainment industry to offer more non-stereotypical roles for Asian women in the U.S. However, to make the assumption that women like Halle Berry or any other black or Latina or whatever actress of color are still not forced to take on similar stereotypical roles is just wrong.

Thats because they dont make as much noise about the racism as we (blacks and hispanics) do. Asian culture – as far as i have seen – puts serious pressure on individuals to be more submissive and to accept how things are and not cause trouble. The whole perseverance and diligence will reap awards mentally is great but sometimes it comes at the expense of humanity. And in the case of hollywood as long as asians keep quiet then this will continue.

takasar1

YEAH … i dont think that is the reason. culture is not to blame for that. one must remember that the asian minority is far smaller than the Hispanic and black communities. when (if!) the asian population grows, so will their demands

ehhh i still attribute to culture. Lets use that video of that Asian boy who was getting beat up in Chicago. He got jumped badly, went to the hospital and then home The only reason the police found out was because the girl filming it uploaded it to FB and someone notified the police. I can’t speak for others but i know my mother would have had the national guard out looking for whoever did that to me. But they just kept quiet until the police found them. If the kid had been white, black, hispanic or indian (yes i know they are tecnically asian) I would have been bewildered as to why the parents didn’t make a fuss, but as soon as i heard he was chinese i accepted it as a fact that its normal that they didnt. BTW i hope thats not offensive as i realize my thought was stereotyping, but some (most) stereotypes have a grain of truth.

I have disagree with that, while Blacks and Hispanics are defiantly given more roles in Hollywood than Asians they are rarely out of their stereotypical roles. There is more than one type of stereotype, being hyper-sexualized maybe one, but I think the most common one in the media as of right now would be the strong black women stereotype, except the media keeps trying to turn that into a good thing. I rarely see a black women on tv that isn’t some form of that stereotype.
But like I said Asian women are rarely given roles to begin with compared with other minorities in the first place which makes it seem like we have it better but more doesn’t always equal better.

I honestly don’t get why some Asians try to minimize black struggle and vic versa, some black people think Asians don’t experience racism as much because of the model minority stereotype but that’s obviously not true. People need to stop playing the oppression Olympics.

GaCaRa

What is that first paragraph, Asians don’t all look the same or have homogenous cultures. Korea is different from Indonesia is different from Afghanistan is Different from Sri Lanka. Where is this homogeneity of which you speak?

Though Cloud Atlas did have all kinds of crazy stuff going on, including Halle Berry as an Indian woman. I think he main issue people has was the make up for the Whit-to-Koreans, because that WAS terrible. I don’t think they should have kept it as the same actors in the first place, there would have been other ways they could have shown the souls over time.

JackHuang

I mean that each individual culture is extremely homogeneous. The US is far more of an ethnic melting pot than South Korea, Japan, China, etc.

Perhaps there could have better ways to show souls over time, but having read an article on Cloud Atlas, that was an early Wachowski innovation is conveying the idea on film, and under that constraint, I can forgive the yellowface. As for the actual makeup involved for the yellowface, arguably the reverse yellowface instance was just as visually awkward.

RC_RC

China isn’t extremely homogeneous, different languages, there is Tibet, there are the Uyghurs. Lots of etnic tensions. Also South Korea is not extremely homogeneous, it is mixed country when it comes to religion.

The homogeneity that JackHuang was probably refering to would be ethnic homogeneity in which people have similar complexions more so in reference to hair colour and eye colour.

RC_RC

Who only looking at how people look? And not at things like culture, values, religion, language, class, wealth differences….I don’t understand that. And I don’t think that a Uygur and a Han have the same etnicity. Or just look at a country like Lebanon, it is very, very diverse.

takasar1

i think that the point being made is that in east asia there are many ‘closely related’ ethnicity’s. such as the yamato and korean ethnicities. additionally, the various different types of chinese ethnic groups are also proven (not 100% proven but a lot of evidence does exist) to be very closely related to each other (as a result of migration). these ethnic groups all came from a larger ‘main’ group and throughout the last 2 to 3 millenia have converged again through marriage after initially diverging. the point being made is that east asian countries are much more ethnically homogeneous than western nations (china = 92% han & 8% other closely related groups, japan = 98% yamato and ainu, korea = 99% korean ethnicity). Uygur and Han are probably the most diverse types of chinese that you can find in this world, yet even between these two a foreigner would not be able to tell them apart.

(i am half Tujia half Han)

RC_RC

No, JackHuang writes ‘each individual culture is extremely homogeneous’. And then people write that that is true because all Koreans look the same. However Korea is mixed when it comes to religion so it can’t be a homogeneous country. Religion matters (just look at the middle east) whether we like that or not. People write again and again at seoulbeats that South Korea is so homogeneous, it isn’t true.
And not even all Han chinese speak the same language. Language matters (just look at Belgium).

And the Han Chinese have different religions too.

taequila777

Her role in “Monster’s Ball” was pretty controversial; not based on race, but because of the historical implications of black women being portrayed as hypersexual.

I am genuinely curious about how a black woman playing a hypersexual character makes black women poorly portrayed (and all other racial stereotypes to their races) but a white woman can play a hypersexual character and nobody complains of the implications that white women were hypersexual.

I am not trying to argue your point, just trying to understand how it’s only bad if a non-white does it.

Because those are not the only roles white women are given. Roles given to white women are varied so its not confined to one certain type of person. Like for example, a white person can be the prep, the nerd, the sexual one, the innocent one, the mean one, the tomboy etc. Since they are given more variety whites are portrayed and many different ways that can be good, bad, or anywhere in between it doesn’t confine them into a stereotypical role.Whereas minorities are often given the same type of role, less variety. Lets use glee as an example, Rachel is annoying because she is a nerd not because she is white, Finn is dumb because he’s a jock not because he is white, Quinn is a slut/mean because she is a cheerleader not because she is white,but Mercedes is sassy because she is black. Minorities are often times given roles that are defined by their race, white characters are not, so a white person can play sexualized person and no one thinks she is like that because she is white because there are many other types of white people presented on screen.

However, white women are sexualized in other parts of the world, because they are usually given roles were they act in a hyper-sexual manner. Since those are the only roles they given people think all white women are like that and that’s were stereotypes start to form. It’s the same for minorities in the states .

Because those are not the only roles white women are given. Roles given to white women are varied so its not confined to one certain type of person. Like for example, a white person can be the prep, the nerd, the sexual one, the innocent one, the mean one, the tomboy etc. Since they are given more variety whites are portrayed and many different ways that can be good, bad, or anywhere in between it doesn’t confine them into a stereotypical role.Whereas minorities are often given the same type of role, less variety. Lets use glee as an example, Rachel is annoying because she is a nerd not because she is white, Finn is dumb because he’s a jock not because he is white, Quinn is a slut/mean because she is a cheerleader not because she is white,but Mercedes is sassy because she is black. Minorities are often times given roles that are defined by their race, white characters are not, so a white person can play sexualized person and no one thinks she is like that because she is white because there are many other types of white people presented on screen.

However, white women are sexualized in other parts of the world, because they are usually given roles were they act in a hyper-sexual manner. Since those are the only roles they given people think all white women are like that and that’s were stereotypes start to form. It’s the same for minorities in the states .

Let’s not use Glee. That’s the most stereotyping horrendous piece of trash on TV. So of course there are going to be stereotypes. Such as the slutty white cheerleader. What’s wrong with white cheerleaders? Why do they all have to be sluts?

Anyway ~ thanks for the comment. I don’t see it as often as others do, I suppose

I used glee for that very reason though. Santana is a slutty cheerleader too, so its more about the stereotypes of cheerleaders than whites.

And yup no problem.

asianromance

I had no idea there was an uproar against PSY at the AMAs either since I’ve only heard positive things about how fun and exciting the MCHammer and PSY mashup was. I knew that given that PSY is Asian that there will be those racists coming out of the woodwork crying foul that a Korean is performing at the American Music Awards even though the song is so big that most Americans know what it is. Don’t they realize that it is being played (though in mashup form) in American nightclubs, that is has been used in Dancing with the Stars, that there are tons of video footage of Americans dancing to that song (even American celebs), that it is being incorporated along with other American songs in dancing games like Dance Central and Just Dance, etc. Bet they’re antsy after Obama won the election to see two kinds of minorities jamming on stage together.
I’m personally sort of a bit tired of the overexposure of this song, but if it would make those racists nash their teeth at the thought of asians entering the entertainment business and getting in the American conciousness, then right on!

I wish LMFAO didn’t go on hiatus- would have loved to see an MCHammer, PSY, LMFAO mashup performance.

Cerovill_e

Mashup of PSY, LMFAO, and MCHammer? Now that’s a good idea…

Ditu3ka

That goes both ways. Asian stereotypes in Hollywood are pretty similar to those Black/White stereotypes in Asian cinema (culture). I´m from Europe but I think Psy is really well received in US, showing and performing here and there. But not everybody has to love him or accept him with open arms. I don´t believe that all the people who didn´t want him to appear on that award show are racists. What I mean is that he´s everywhere these days and some people just don´t like that style of his or the fact they don´t understand what he´s singing about or simply they just got tired of the horse dance. It doesn´t necessary mean their dislike is link to him being Asian.
Sorry for my grammar, hope you understand my point.

Gaya_SB

There’s nothing wrong with not liking Psy or Gangnam Style–different people, different tastes, after all–but disregarding or criticising him based on his race just seem sad.

Ditu3ka

It´s not sad, it´s simply wrong. But unfortunatelly racisms is everywhere. I just wanted to say that not everyone who didn´t want to see Psy there was thinking that because of him being Asian.

Where my sister is studying, people are now using Gangnam Style to taunt her on the streets. :(

taequila777

Where is she studying if you don’t mind my asking?

sakurahae

About the end of the article.

I think its funny. well not funny, but somehow, idk, annoying? interesting? that most of the time, I feel like I can consider these various scandals in a fairly appropriate way. South Korea has a whole different back ground, culture etc than the USA (where im from) So I Usually try to remind myself, that you cant always interpret things via the filter of your home environment? And I’m usually pretty good at it too.Such as the whole Taemin/Kai issue…
but then, there are some scandals that While i KNOW in my head have different cultural forces behind them, im still horribly offended, because like, It seems to me to a manner of politeness, yeah? Like that Whole thing with Doojoon and that foreign fan. I just cant wrap my head around reacting likr that on television no matter how hard i try.

But then I find myself making comments in a similar vein as the ones i found horribly offensive, although granted not within sight or hearing of that person, but im still doing the same thing…

It seems we have a much harder time seeing it in ourselves, than seeing it in others. ^^; Ugh, we hold celebrities to a different standard yes? If it was your friend doing that, you’d reprimand them or something and then it’d brush over.But with idols its this sense of outrage about “how can they do that WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE THEM?” more than anything else.

I feel like im more offended by them saying/doing something that i find offensive in public rather than the fact that they did it period.

Ugh and ive rambled again but its interesting the double standards we hold these idols to sometimes.

LadyXia

Sometimes when I read articles about PSY and racism I feel like living in another universe, because in real life I’ve never seen/heard someone being racist towards him. People I’ve asked about PSY and Gangnam Style either didn’t know him or the song at all (yes, it’s possible) and proceeded not to care or they knew / liked him (or the song) and even knew he was Korean (impossible!). Maybe I just met the right people, but where I live, people don’t seem to care about him being Asian or singing in Korean very much. I mostly read negative stuff surrounding him through articles like this or forum posts, so it feels a little weird since so many kpop-fans focus on mostly the negative stuff.

That said, I think all those MTV Awards should re-think their voting system. I don’t care if there are international stars nominated at the EMA (or AMA in this case), but why get for example non-Europeans to vote at the EMA? They should let people from the respective country or continent decide who they like and who they think did well this year and not the whole world. That’s the only complaint I have.

GaryCXJk

I have to agree on that, actually. I always assumed that the AMA is the award given to people that were voted upon by American citizens, just like the EMA is for European citizens, to represent each respective continent’s musical preferences.

Also, with the EMA you bring up something that makes a good point. Why do people make a fuss about Psy, a non-American, being on the AMA, while we Europeans have no qualms of having non-Europeans perform during the EMA?

FlipMango

You’re asking what’s my take? Ask me after I’ve gotten over my shock. The reason I’m shocked is likely because I live in Canada, where racism is not as serious. Yes we do have racism and racist jokes, but it’s not so serious. So for me, this article was quite the eye opener.

Another shock that came to me is how right the writer is about how oblivious the Kpop community is to its own racism. I always saw the comments like “they all look the same” as joking, the comments comparing artists to American artists as complimentary, and the ones judging Korean culture indifferently. As the writer says, I for one was living in a fantasy that since I’m a Kpop fan I can’t be racist to Korea.

So I’d like to give major kudos to the writer for bringing up what I’d say is a much overlooked issue. I for one have definitely benefited from this article and opened my eyes to this issue.

As you’ve seen from my comments I am very vocal on how I feel about racism so you know I am the last person who would ever dismiss cases of racism of any kind. However,I have to say that the internet is very racist and not a reflection of an entire society. Go onto pretty much any Black American singer on youtube and see how many times you see the n-word. And I also have to disagree with it being an Asian thing of Americans not wanting Psy at the awards because hes foreign. One of my friends parents are in some online group who are against the British hosting American awards shows. Now I do realize there is a stigma against Asians as more foreign than other races or less American even being born and raised here there are times were they could get the “where are you from?” question but I’m not sure this is the case here. But I could be wrong, I’m all about understanding others interpretation of racism. At the end of the day I’m not Asian, even if I’m a minority I might not get it for the very fact that I’ve never walk in an Asian’s person’s shoes. Americans do have a long way to go into fully excepting minorities though, and I agree with you when you said this- “It’s easy to detect what the definition of “normal” is: a white, straight, able-bodied, cis male. By featuring other races or ethnicities, other genders/people with different sexual orientations, and other disabilities, one would be straying away from the default configuration.” Like for example with the new Twilight movie “Breaking Dawn “, people online were calling the two blacks girls in the movie negros that weren’t suppose to be black in the movie,apparently people thought they should have been Native American. So I dunno, we still have a hard time excepting minorities as lead roles here so it wouldn’t surprise me to see this happening to Psy. But anyways I think we need more time to tell how the general American population feels about Psy when he actually releases his world wide album before we jump to conclusions and not just some internet comments.

Cherry_Blueberry

…

wickfan

I don’t know about the racist remarks your talking about unless your talking about youtube comments but it not stopping PSY popularity. He is still number one on itunes in America and he is nearing 3 million in sales of his single.

The fire bending nation was also brown. Okay, I’m Indian, but come on. They just changed the nationality of the fire nation! Yeah, I’m a big Airbender fan. I didn’t even bother to watch it when my bro told me not to, it would only make me very disappointed.

Gaya_SB

Good thing you didn’t IT WAS TERRIBLE. That made me stop complaining about the HP films for a while because it made me realise just how bad adapting good material can get *shudder*

igbygrl

They also originally wanted to cast Jesse McCartney as Zuko! So the soldiers and extras would be Indian and Jesse would’ve been the only white guy in the bunch lol!

Gaya_SB

Actually, the extras would probably have also been East Asian (or even White). It was only after Dev Patel got cast that they’d gone “oh well, if Zuko’s Indian, I guess we should make the rest of the Fire Nation South Asian as well.” Funny how that didn’t happen for the other nations, though.

igbygrl

^that’s true lol…I think it was just laziness in general for not being more thorough with the casting for the other nations…Plus I think M.Night was just really paranoid that his movie would not sell well if it was an all Asian cast.

aozora1290

The best part of articles with this kind of subject matter is the passionate responses it gets from people. To me it says that people are by and large tired of our society being ruled by the idea of race and social order and social hierarchy. I actually learned alot about Americas own historical context of racism between blacks and asians during the L.A. riots. i was only 2 when the riots took place so i have no memory of the event and as such has little meaning to me which is perhaps a good thing. I am also very multiracial with french, german, korean and african ancestry from both of my parents which really explains a lot of my own experiences with koreans and blacks that i didnt quite understand before. I have often said that everyone should hold each other to the same standards however i also believe that we should still take a culture’s histories into consideration considering that is really what it all comes down to. I really try my best ti understand everyone’s perspective which i think is where it all starts. I guess at the end the adage “it goes both ways” applies. I think that the fact that people havent focused too much on the negativity Psy’s performance receives says alot about how society is changing in regards to race. I didnt even know there was negativity about it. I think it’s a great achievement and Psy proved his worth as an entertainer because usually The AMA’s are the most boring with little audience participation and it seemed like the audience really woke up for Psy’s performance. As a society we need to quit letting racists be the loudest and have the most voice we have to actively let the world know that they dont speak for all of us and i have often said that is the greatest strength of western kpop fans. I have also often thought that the mere idea of race is in itself racist because it automatically creates competition and cultural domination. There also alot of up and coming asian actors in the industry so i think that times really are changing so i also think we should give eachother credit when it is due.

black_rose45000

How can Kim Wan Sun be Korea’s MJ? Is this a mistake from the author? If not, then, I’m baffled at the absurdity of that perception.

“Ask Tom Cruise, because god forbid, you don’t want to have an actual Asian talking about an Asian culture.”
I wonder about this. I may be naive, but I want to believe that wasn’t the reasoning behind casting a white man in a movie about one of Asia’s cultures. I think it’s much easier to relate to him, and get past the “culture shock”, and see the Japanese world and “live” through TC’s character’s eyes. Someone, who, at the beginning, is clueless about Japan, but begins to change and to learn and love that people. Maybe I’m wrong, but for some people, that just may be a better way to understand. I personally love Japan the most, and I watch their movies and everything, but not everyone is keen on discovering Japan “first-hand”, as I’d call it, and I mean through their movies and documentaries and everything.

although there’s progress and it has came a long way in terms of increasing multiculturalism and diversity (especially as an Asian where I live and grew up in a predominately Asian community and in my country Australia is multiculturalism) there’s still sadly discrimination, and racial stereotypes in the media and in life.

although there’s progress and it has came a long way in terms of increasing multiculturalism and diversity (especially as an Asian where I live and grew up in a predominately Asian community and in my country Australia is multiculturalism) there’s still sadly discrimination, and racial stereotypes in the media and in life.

although there’s progress and it has came a long way in terms of increasing multiculturalism and diversity (especially as an Asian where I live and grew up in a predominately Asian community and in my country Australia is multiculturalism) there’s still sadly discrimination, and racial stereotypes in the media and in life.

wickfan

It is mostly asian media who dub the Korean version of who not western. I specifically remember After School calling themselves the Korean version of the PussyCat Dolls.

pamrawr

I don’t really have a solid opinion on the main subject matter here, but can I just say, THAT WAS A PRETTY EPIC PERFORMANCE :D

CJux

The racism against Psy is nothing surprising and it won’t go over any time soon. Not necessarily because it’s America, but because there are stupid people everywhere who prefer to believe in the easiest answer to their problems. You can accuse Hollywood of being racist all you want and innocently believe they are the root of all the problems in society, but the real devils manipulation people’s perception of reality are politics. Implicit racism and hate speech has been used and re-used by politicians to divert people’s attentions from real issues, and as long they keep doing it, the sentiment won’t go away. With or without Hollywood.
Unemployment is on the rise? Blame the immigrants. The health care system needs serious reforms? Ask for Obama’s birth certificate. Corruption runs deep through our society? Look over there, the Japs are stealing our islands! Go hate on them instead.

When racism is used as a form of nationalism and patriotism to ideologically influence people’s mentality and manipulate their loyally to the country (read: your political party), it becomes an easy scapegoat for (brain-washable) people to vent on their frustrations. The majority of the racist comments against Psy were emphasizing his nationality/language, relying on the same kind of Donald Trump argument to discredit the artist/person. And this is politics speaking through their minds, not Hollywood. Although it’s true that, some Hollywood movies are highly politicized too (lolPearlHarbor).

And on the topic of Hollywood, I’d also like to say something about The Last Samurai. Don’t get me wrong, I do agree with you on Dragonball and that Hollywood has still a lot of problems, but out of all the examples you could’ve chosen, this particular one might end up destroying your argument here: “…but there is no reason in this world to actually believe that a man/woman defines the epitome because of his nationality…” And that is because you are here purely picking on a man’s skincolor (who you think shouldn’t belong to samurai culture because of his nationality) without even trying to understand the content of the movie.

You see, the main focus of the movie was to portray how aggressive Western politics imposed during the Meiji Period destroyed old Japanese traditions. By having a white American as the main actor the directors managed to simultaneously criticize two things: the Westernization of Japan that led to the extinction of the samurai culture; and the drawn parallel lines on the extinction of Native American culture, through Tom Cruise’s flashbacks. I am disappointed that you decided to pick on a movie with tons of depth and thought-provocative messages just because of the main actor’s skincolor. Maybe you missed the implicit criticism disguised in ironic remarks? A quote from Tom Cruise’s character: “I have been hired to suppress the rebellion of yet another tribal leader. Apparently, this is the only job for which I am suited. I am beset by the ironies of my life.”

[Curiously, the Last Samurai was more successful among Japanese audience than American audience. Unlike a certain movie full of Asian actors (and even Asian producers!) which was accused of stereotyping and insulting geisha culture. But I digress.]

Just one more thing, because I couldn’t resist myself:

“It’s just a failure of international fans to encounter another race and take its individuals as human beings with distinct personalities, without always having to draw comparisons between them and people of “their kind/another kind”.”

A lot of I-fans make these comparisons because, well, Korea does it. If you are a regular reader of Marmot’s Hole you’d know by now how freaking common it is for Korean media to refer to their own wonderful idols and places as “the Korean version of [insert other culture’s famous celebrity/place/monument here]”.
But I admit I’ve seen a lot of stupid comparisons made solely by international fans. Though, I wouldn’t say they are being racist. It depends on the intent.

Regarding Bollywood, the three hundred and fifty years of British colonialism does tend to skew the perception a bit. But Bollywood is far harder on fellow Indians than on the white people. Bollywood is not Indian cinema. It is just Hindi language cinema. Therefore Bollywood is notorious for presenting people from other parts of India as grossly exagerrated caricatures in the guise of comedy. Example: The representation of speech, mannerisms of South Indians often crosses the line of comedy and becomes offensive. In this context, I would say that Bollywood is more of an equal opportunity offender – it does not reserve anything especially heinous for the white folk.
However, I am curious to understand your reference to “dreadful English use” in Asian TV shows. Are you referring to accent? Or is it semantics and syntax? In Asian TV popular entertainment, English is accorded a high status. Use of English is supposed to indicate education, culture, sophistication. How exactly do you find this dreadful?

Regarding the use of English in Asian cinema and entertainment, it isn’t the fact it’s used. I’ve watched white people in Korean TV shows who can’t (act, but that’s a completely different argument, or is it? Terrible white actors/actresses RACISM! lol jk)… but it’s the way it’s written. English translations of Korean dramas are watchable and I don’t know if this is because the Korean script is actually written half-way decent or if they write horrible scripts and subbers just make the show better. *shrug* My dislike is purely based on the pathetic writing when it comes to English and the horribly outrageous the acting is during those moments.

Though we did tooootally miss Chanyeol overtaking Psy to become the new King of K-pop. I don’t know how that got passed us.

openfire_atwill

Wow I must have been living under a rock. I didn’t know people didn’t want Psy on AMAs. Everyone seemed to have been excited for his perf. It outweighed the negatives.

ExoKpop

There was an uproar against Psy at the AMAs? How come i didn’t hear of this? and i live in america? i’m not a fan of psy, but Psy really brought the house down that night! everyone was enjoying his show. he did his job. sadly, America, supposedly the melting pot of the world still cannot accept an Asian man taking a big part in our media. There’s still a lot of racism in America, no doubt despite our immense struggles to rectify that. u can see that by just looking at how angry Americans get when talking about illegal immigrants from South America. Hypocrites. we were ALL originally illegal immigrants unless u are native americans. I love my country, but at the same time, it makes me mad too. Also, i can’t help but notice that our mainstream music is becoming real crap too. i can’t bear hearing new songs playing on radio. i like the old american songs. we were good until the 90’s and early 2000.

Juamaster9594

I think there’s a thin line between racism and cultural acknowledgement; it must be approached tenderly to walk through it safely. Despite the free-willing right everyone has, only a small bunch of kpop fans can have a neutral point of view regarding kpop gossip because of their cultural baggage. Also, if I might add, the Hallyu Wave is a really tiny percentage of what really is the Korean culture, while, we as fans are a mash up of cultures – or, more appropriate, of subcultures – or a hideous syncretism of what the media was told us is culture.

So…..blackface is acceptable because Hollywood prefers to cast white actors for Asian roles?

One for all

So…..blackface is acceptable because Hollywood prefers to cast white actors for Asian roles?

Ruthie Pope

All these discussions about PSY always leave me a little puzzled. Every article I read seems to imply that PSY was a nobody before Gangnam Style. That unless Americans see someone…they just don’t exist. Forget that he was huge in Korea. Another thing is – I just don’t understand what is wrong with PSY. As a woman, I see him as very alpha. There is nothing faceless about an alpha male. Alpha is alpha, it doesn’t matter if the person is being absurd, silly or whatever. I also saw Gangnam style as a spoof on American popified gangster music and not a man making fun of himself, I can’t have been the only one. PSY could have been from Pluto and it still would have made me laugh.

Now as for the Miley Cyrus jab, I will use my husband as an example of why Tosh O made the comment. I was watching a Kdrama when my husband came into the room. He stood in the doorway with his head cocked, and watched for a moment and then said about one of the actors “He’s so beautiful, it’s a bit confusing.” What is acceptable as masculine in Asia, makes a lot of American men uncomfortable. Tosh O was just lashing out, probably because he was uncomfortable and he’s a snarky kind of guy. But really, to quote Tosh O on anything dealing with sexuality is sort of silly. A lot of his comedy revolves around his own confusion about his sexuality – of course he’s going to wig out over the beautiful Kpop guys. Music videos like Hot Potato’s Love would probably give him a stroke.

Oh and one other thing. It is true that a lot of whites have difficulty with Asian faces. But that will change when we start seeing more Asians. The truth is, we are lazy at looking. In my family alone there is – one red head, one strawberry blond, two brunettes, a blond and a dark blond, two very dark skinned people with light brown hair and two with grey hair and one with no hair. As for body types – they range from 5′ to 6’5″, from heavy boned and chunky, to slender and delicate. I don’t have to look very carefully to figure out who’s who. My own 5’2″ daughter has black hair with light olive skin – I lose her in the mall amongst all the Latin’s every time we go to the mall. And that’s my own daughter! Really, we are LAZY lookers, who lack focus! But that will change with time. .
All of this dissecting just seems so unfair to PSY. He’s been around for a while, he is obviously proud to be Korean, as you can see in his Fighting video. Why does he have to satisfy Asian Americans? He doesn’t have the same life story. Or take responsibility for how Americans judge him? Not everything is about us (Americans) no matter what ethnicity we evolve from.
If you don’t like Hollywood – don’t watch. There is plenty of other stuff on Hulu, Netflix, Asian Crush, Drama Fever, BBC, dramas and movies from Africa, Asia and South America – Al Jazeera live – my God, am I the only one with a ROKU?! Hollywood will listen when we stop paying attention to them. It is weird how there seems to be a need to compare everyone to an American singer or actor. SNL Korea’s Kim Seul Gi -is crazy multi talented. We could only wish someone here could be compared to her.